Gustard X18 Review (Stereo DAC)

[dsnyder0cnn]

For those of you who have heard it, is X18 suitable for listening to music? What I mean is musicality. I don't want to use it to check whether the recording is good or bad, just to make my ears comfortable and happy！

That's a tough question to answer. The X18 is the best sounding DAC I've owned. In a good room with thoughtful setup, it throws a big soundstage when such is present in the recording. If you are into imaging, it's all there. Focus and spacial qualities of good recordings are present in spades.

Some may find the tonality to be boring because no portions of the frequency range are emphasized. I've never understood this objection since this is digital. If you want more punch or less mids, just dial that in using EQ. The X18 presents a blank canvas; you are free to color the sound however you wish.

The relatively low output impedance makes paring with downstream amplifiers easier. The remote control is nothing special, but it works way better than my Topping remotes.

Connectivity is pretty standard, but there's no USB-C input and no trigger outputs. Besides that, I can't imagine what you'd want in a dedicated DAC that the X18 does not have.

 

[mocenigo]

For those of you who have heard it, is X18 suitable for listening to music? What I mean is musicality. I don't want to use it to check whether the recording is good or bad, just to make my ears comfortable and happy！

I have a Topping D90 and am absolutely sure that it would not be distinguishable from the X18 in any contest where they are both interfaced to a preamplifier, headphone amplifier, or power amp with a decent input sensitivity. I use the D90 to listen to music, and my ears ade comfortable and happy.

But if you are intentionally seeking manipulated sound, then no well implemented DAC will ever suit you, only defective (and probably overpriced) ones.

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

I have a Topping D90 and am absolutely sure that it would not be distinguishable from the X18 in any contest where they are both interfaced to a preamplifier, headphone amplifier, or power amp with a decent input sensitivity. I use the D90 to listen to music, and my ears ade comfortable and happy.

But if you are intentionally seeking manipulated sound, then no well implemented DAC will ever suit you, only defective (and probably overpriced) ones.

I've actually done level-matched comparison between the D90SE and X16. With the same filters selected and level matched to within 0.01 dB, the two DACs were completely indistinguishable from each other sonically and objectively. At least to the limits of my abilities to hear and measure. Of course, there are feature differences between the two that may be important, depending on application.

I upgraded to the X18 because it was on sale and I wanted the better display, lower output impedance, and higher output. The extra 2 dB or so of output comes in handy to compensate for the ~8 dB of filter insertion loss resulting from the FIR filters I use for digital room correction. Sonically, the X16 and X18 are also identical assuming there are no issues with downstream impedance matching.

 

[HIFIBOY]

I have a Topping D90 and am absolutely sure that it would not be distinguishable from the X18 in any contest where they are both interfaced to a preamplifier, headphone amplifier, or power amp with a decent input sensitivity. I use the D90 to listen to music, and my ears ade comfortable and happy.

But if you are intentionally seeking manipulated sound, then no well implemented DAC will ever suit you, only defective (and probably overpriced) ones.

What confused me was that all the merchants compared the sound of their products, and the sound of different DAC models of the same brand was different. Did the merchants cheat me for marketing? But I do hear the difference in sound, and I shouldn't talk about sound here, but it is.

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

But I do hear the difference in sound, and I shouldn't talk about sound here, but it is.

There are many reasons why this might be. Getting level matching right is not easy. If you're willing to share your approach, folks here would be willing to provide feedback on the effectiveness. For example, level matching by playing pink noise and using an SPL meter is not adequate for this kind of test.

 

[mocenigo]

What confused me was that all the merchants compared the sound of their products, and the sound of different DAC models of the same brand was different. Did the merchants cheat me for marketing? But I do hear the difference in sound, and I shouldn't talk about sound here, but it is.

Well, did you perform appropriately controlled tests? Are the volumes perfectly (as in really perfectly) matched?

Roberto

 

[MadHatter37]

@amirm said in his first sentence : I like the high resolution display with larger volume indicator.

Whhhhattt ?

Gustard makes a larger volume display ?

Noooo, you mean that they DO listent to the Voice of the Customer ??


Bravo !!!

Good for them to upgrade the attenuation. That’s the only plus IMO. The jitter is worse. I have to completely disagree about volume being ideally primary on the display. There’s still no 12V trigger in and out.

I appreciate AmirM’s work, but other than the objective analysis, his subjective analysis shouldn’t have any additional weight than any other customer. I liked how the X16 display was because a volume number is the LEAST important thing on a DAC. I want to see bitrate and technical data relative to the functions of the device, not some useless volume number which will be compounded by any other attenuation controls everywhere across the signal chain. I’m quite disappointed TBH.

If they added the trigger, left the display metrics alone or let users select display items, made firmware updates user-serviceable, not increased jitter, and done this attenuation circuit upgrade…then I’d buy one. For now, I’m still waiting for class-leading measurements WITH the features I find necessary.

 

[Rja4000]

other than the objective analysis, his subjective analysis shouldn’t have any additional weight.

There are 1000 places out there where you can find subjective opinions of all colours (and their opposite)
But only here you'll find the measurements.

Please, let Amir do what he's the only one doing !

 

[MadHatter37]

There are 1000 places out there where you can find subjective opinions of all colours (and their opposite)
But only here you'll find the measurements.

Please, let Amir do what he's the only one doing !

You missed the point. I’m happy he includes his opinions. I just want the manufacturers to understand they are still only consumer opinions and don’t necessarily reflect the majority of potential customers.

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

Good for them to upgrade the attenuation. That’s the only plus IMO. The jitter is worse. I have to completely disagree about volume being ideally primary on the display. There’s still no 12V trigger in and out.

I appreciate AmirM’s work, but other than the objective analysis, his subjective analysis shouldn’t have any additional weight than any other customer. I liked how the X16 display was because a volume number is the LEAST important thing on a DAC. I want to see bitrate and technical data relative to the functions of the device, not some useless volume number which will be compounded by any other attenuation controls everywhere across the signal chain. I’m quite disappointed TBH.

If they added the trigger, left the display metrics alone or let users select display items, made firmware updates user-serviceable, not increased jitter, and done this attenuation circuit upgrade…then I’d buy one. For now, I’m still waiting for class-leading measurements WITH the features I find necessary.

I own both the Gustard X16 and X18. The real benefits I found going to the X18 in my main system are 5V output and lower output impedance. I use FIR filters for digital room correction, and these come with around 7 dB of filter insertion loss (typical). The extra two or so dB of output from the DAC helps to compensate for this loss (my Topping Pre90 preamp picks up the rest of the slack). I don't have a way to measure the effect, but lower output impedance on a source is almost always a good thing. Gustard also solved the ESS IMD hump in the X18.

Differences in jitter performance for S/PDIF inputs are inconsequential as I use the USB input. Below auditability (-120 dB) anyway.

 

[MadHatter37]

I own both the Gustard X16 and X18. The real benefits I found going to the X18 in my main system are 5V output and lower output impedance. I use FIR filters for digital room correction, and these come with around 7 dB of filter insertion loss (typical). The extra two or so dB of output from the DAC helps to compensate for this loss (my Topping Pre90 preamp picks up the rest of the slack). I don't have a way to measure the effect, but lower output impedance on a source is almost always a good thing. Gustard also solved the ESS IMD hump in the X18.

Differences in jitter performance for S/PDIF inputs are inconsequential as I use the USB input. Below auditability (-120 dB) anyway.

These are good points and improvements I neglected to mention. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few others too. I don’t doubt the unit has value and sounds great.

I understand the jitter is audibly negligible, but “why step backwards” was more what I was getting at. Perhaps it was necessary for the lower output impedance. IDK

Still, I’m waiting for a discrete DAC without trying to be a half-integrated device to hit the market with all the fundamental features a modern consumer expects. Maybe there is one but I haven’t found it yet. Too many companies are adding “fancy” integrated features (like a 5V supply or attenuation control) without addressing fundamentals (like 12V trigger or input sensing etc).